John Brooks We all come across that film that usually belongs to a very stale and processed genre, which promotion and poster and actor lineup seem tedious in and of themselves... but that is actually really good. Hidden gems, if you will. It's a matter of the actors establishing good chemistry on the set, a real feeling of coziness and cohesiveness among the crew like the director and entire cast had time to grow into a comfort zone and produce a fully matured product with caricatured but detailed characters, an original soundtrack, etc.It's the sort of flick that wouldn't be anything without its very definite humor and gags though, despite the main narrative being actually quite original and a now cult classic theme (if not original, then one of the main "friendzone" concept films surely), and whether you like him or not, Ryan Reynolds brings his personal and unique touch to every movie set he enters. He and Anna Faris are hilarious here, some scenes genuinely some of the funniest stuff from that entire cinematic era I can think of and surely connected on a purely humorous level where they were completely comfortable around each other and managed some of the best onscreen one-two combo comedy. They'd also played together in "Waiting..." that same year, so, good chemistry and good complementary back and forth.Amy Smart does well also as the warm college crush/sweetheart many of us had growing up, but it's really the secondary characters that give this movie a major boost and fill in the blanks with comedic gusto when the protagonists aren't hogging up all the airtime: Chris Brander's mom (played by Julie Hagerty) is hilarious and hits so close to home as the overly naive and preoccupied mom ("well honey what on earth are you doing over at Joyce's ?!" -"be yourselllllffff !"), Dusty Dinkleman (Chris Klein): absolutely hilarious character. And you know the movie makers put in genuine heart and effort when the film has its own batch of original songs that depict a character's flaws: "When Jamie Smiles" as the "stalker's national anthem", or Samantha James' "Forgiveness". And then of course Reynolds in the intro (full version later during the ending credits) delivers the single most hilarious and comprehensively demolished singing-simulation cover I've ever seen of that deliciously putrid song "I swear" by..whatever boy's band at the time. The relationship Brander has with his most annoying and immature little brother also adds to the good fun and the relatable quality of the overall picture.Whenever this film given its nature was supposed to run out of funny-steam, it kept going - whenever it was supposed to finally look like a cardboard Hollywood disposable comedy, it held up well enough - whenever the cheesiness was supposed to kick in hard, it managed to keep its composure and not sell out. It manages to tell the truest story, deliver a genuine moral that doesn't collapse or sell itself too fast, while being quite honestly very funny even hilarious in parts and never stutter with its pace.This is surely too high a rating, but for this sort of film it indeed doesn't get much better than this: 9/10.

Ledya R-p not sure why overall its 6.2/10? this is such a funny movie! Ryan Reynolds is hilarious in it. Laughing the entire time, I think it's a fun Christmas movie that anyone can enjoy! I wasn't too sure about the main chick in it, I didn't feel the chemistry between her and Ryan Reynolds but he was seriously hilarious in this film. This is my first review ever and the only reason i chose to do it was because i read the reviews and then watched the movie and found most of the reviews were inaccurate. Watch for a laugh! It's a very good, funny and cute movie! I wish he would do more movies like this, he is perfect for the role! All round great actors, their parts were very believable and a very relatable story, unfortunately but with a humour.must watch!!!!

mattkratz This basically serves as a vehicle for Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart, and as romantic comedies go, it's not too bad. Anna Ferris was terrific as a crazy pop star. Reynolds gets stranded in his New Jersey hometown during the holidays and runs into his old friends, including his high school crush, who spurned him right before they graduated high school. They start to reconnect.This has several laugh-out-loud scenes, including a bed scene, a great "he shoots, he scores" transition scene, a pickup hockey game, and a scene where they try to kiss on the ice. It's a pretty good "guilty pleasure" film with good chemistry between the stars.** 1/2 out of ****

SnoopyStyle Chris Brander (Ryan Reynolds) is an overweight teen and he's in love with his best friend Jamie Palamino (Amy Smart). But in an attempt to proclaim his love, he makes a fool of himself in front of a class party. And Jamie just want to be friends. Now they're grown up and he's not fat anymore. Plus he's a success in the music industry. He has to accompany a ridiculous pop princess Samantha James (Anna Faris). Their jet catches on fire and they land back in his home town. It just might be his chance to be more than friends with Jamie.Chris is an unlikeable character. And I don't think I rooted for him and Jamie to get together. Anna Faris is playing her character way too broad. At least I thought so, until the pond hockey game with the kids. The whole thing is full of anger, the characters are an unlikeable pathetic mess, and there are so many douchey characters. It's just too hard to root for anybody in this one.